The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

The Macerich Company (NYSE:MAC) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twelve analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, eight have issued a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $19.30.

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Macerich from $14.00 to $17.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Macerich from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $23.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Compass Point raised their target price on shares of Macerich from $20.00 to $23.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Macerich from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of Macerich from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $14.00 to $22.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Andrea M. Stephen sold 63,289 shares of Macerich stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.59, for a total transaction of $1,303,120.51. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 83,479 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,718,832.61. This trade represents a 43.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.53% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAC. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in Macerich by 152.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,546 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Macerich during the 2nd quarter valued at $50,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Macerich by 40.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,214 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 933 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Macerich during the second quarter valued at $129,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Macerich by 34.8% in the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 8,374 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $150,000 after acquiring an additional 2,161 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.38% of the company’s stock.

Macerich Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MAC opened at $19.91 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $18.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.04, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 2.51. Macerich has a 52-week low of $12.99 and a 52-week high of $22.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 0.92.

Macerich (NYSE:MAC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The real estate investment trust reported ($0.50) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.90). Macerich had a net margin of 8.98% and a return on equity of 3.15%. The business had revenue of $220.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $208.54 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.44 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Macerich will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Macerich Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th were issued a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. Macerich’s payout ratio is 174.36%.

About Macerich

Macerich is a fully integrated, self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (REIT). As a leading owner, operator and developer of high-quality retail real estate in densely populated and attractive U.S. markets, Macerich’s portfolio is concentrated in California, the Pacific Northwest, Phoenix/Scottsdale, and the Metro New York to Washington, DC corridor.